The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-09
INTER- STATE COMMERCE.

How Government Supervision Will
he Exercised Over Railroads.
After passing the Senate by a large ma
iority. the Interstate Commerce bill has
gone through the House by the decisive vote
of ol9 yeas to IL nays The following is a.
synopsis of the bill, as it passed Congress
The provisions of the bill are applied to
any common carrier of passengers ana
freight, whether the transportation IS en-
tirely by rail or partly by rail and partly by
water, when a common control, manage,
ment or arrangement is exercised or eXteudeo
through more than one State or territory.
or covers such relations between the
try. Ferries and bridges used or
operated by any railroad are embraced
in the provisions of the bill All charges
for the transportation of freight and passen-
gers shall be reasonable and Just, and any
thing opposed to this is prohibited ana de.
clared unlawful. 1t is provided that the
provisions of the act shall not apply to trans
actions wholly carried on within one state
and not affecting the interchange OF trahc
between one State and another, or between
one State and foreign country.
The second section forbids any common
carrier to charge, demand OF receive, ol-
rectly or indirectly, prom any person or per-
sols. greater or less compensation ior any
services connected with freight or passenger
Transportation than from others for like ana
contemporaneouS services in the transports-
ton of a like kind of traffic, under subStan-
TALLY similar circumstances ana con-
ditions 1t is made unlawful ny
the third section to make OF give
any undue or unreasonable prefer
ence or advantage to any particular person,
company, firm, corporation or locality, or 10
any particular description of traffic. Accord
ing to their resTc, tive powers. all corpora
tions subject to the provisions of the act are
required to afford all reasonable, proper ana
equal facilities for the interchange OF trafhc
between their respective lines, and dlscrlmlna-
tion in rates and charges against connectn2
lines is forbidden.
Sections Nos. 4 and ), which furnish the
basis for the controversy that is most inter
esting to railroad men, are given IN full as
follows.
Sec. 1. That it shall be unlawful for any
common carrier subject to the provisions ot
this act to charge or receive any greater COM
pensation in the aggregate for the transpor..
property, under substantially similar cir
cumstances and conditions, for shorter
than for a longer distance over the
same line, in the same direction, tne
shorter being included within the longer
distance: but this shall not be construed as
authorizing any common carrier within the
terms of this act to charge and receive as
great compensation for shorter as for
longer distance. Provided, however, That
upon application to the commission ap-
pointed under the provisions of this act such
common carrier may, in special cases alter
investigation by the commission, be au-
thorized to charge less for longer than Tor
shorter distances for the transportation OF
passengers or property; and the commission
may from time to time prescribe the extent
to which such designated common carrier
may be relieved from the operation OF this
section of this act.
SEC. ). That it shall be unlawful for any
common carrier subject to the provisions OF
this to enter into any contract, agree
ment, or combination with any other com.
mon carrier or carriers for the pooling Of
freights of different and competing rail-
roads or to divide between them the aggre-
gate OF net proceeds of the earnings OF such
railroads OF any POI tion thereof; and IN any
case of an agreement for the pooling of
freightS as aforesaid, each day of its contin-
uanle e shall be deemed a separate offence
The sixth section requires that after ninety
days from the passage of the act the rail-
roads shall print and publish, for the inspec.
tion of everybody, schedules of rates aud
charges, and the commissioners created by
the ILL have authority, whenever they
deem it necessary and proper, to require
publication of the rates made to
other places beyond the lines of
the several railroads. Apublic notice must
be made ten days before any advance III
s'rates, fares and charges" but no su"h no.
tice is required for reduction, though the
detailed publication of such change must
be coincident with any reduction.
The seventh section prohibits any breakage
Of bulk shipments or any other device to
evade the application OF the law to traffic
covered by the preceding provisions A fine
company, or any of its agents, which is
proved to have violated this law, and the
penalty appl es to every offense. The sec
lions of the bill from the eleventh
section on provide for TIE legal protection
of the commissioners and the orderly exc u
ton of the law. Five commissioners are
created, the first five to be appointed by the
President, subject to the confirmation by the
Senate, to serve two, three, four five and six
years, respectively, from January ], 1887;
but each successor to serve for six years.
The commissioners must not be men in any
way interested pecuniarily in the stocks or
bonds of the corporations affected by the
act, or in their employ.
The commissioners have authority to call
for books, papers, etc., and to summon wit
nesses, and they are empowered to appeal to
the courts for assistance, in case of diSobedl-
ence to their summons. The salary Of each
commissioner is fixed at 81 500, and the COM
mission is allowed to appoint Secretary at
a salary of $500; the other expenses of the
Commission being charged to the Interior
Department, which hasa general supervision
over it.